


Mind Games

by Beachrat



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Death, M/M, One Shot, Slow Burn, Suggestive Themes, Trans Male Character, Trans Octane | Octavio Silva
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-30 05:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21423022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beachrat/pseuds/Beachrat
Summary: "That thing fell right on me! I almost died."Crypto's stomach flipped for reasons he couldn't describe, and he opened his mouth to... to do what, exactly? Apologize? He certainly didn't mean to make an attempt on somebody's life by taking down the tower. But Octane didn't give him a chance to say anything.Octane knows Crypto broke the repulsor tower, but he flirts with him anyway. Crypto overthinks it.
Relationships: Crypto | Park Tae Joon/Octane | Octavio Silva
Comments: 4
Kudos: 68





	Mind Games

**Author's Note:**

> (The death tag isn't for anything major don't worry)
> 
> I haven't finished any fics in a long time please be gentle lmao... That said, if I forgot to tag anything please let me know! I didn't tag the other characters in this fic for convenience, but Gibraltar, Mirage and Lifeline make an appearance!
> 
> This was supposed to read as the slow burn that it is, but I like to get to business, and so does Octane. So I guess it's a fast burn HEH

Crypto wasn't here to make any friends. Not that he could, if anyone found out that it was him who blew up the repulsor tower they'd all hate him. So his moves were calculated, his trails virtually nonexistent. The other Legends had no idea and Crypto was going to keep it that way. He wouldn't get attached, he wouldn't speak to anyone unless it was necessary, and he most certainly wouldn't stay long.

Except his plans seemed to be foiled by a certain Octavio Silva, a.k.a. Octane, who pulled up a chair next to his own spot at his desk and sat on it backwards. Crypto slowly turned his head away from his screen and watched as the masked man rested his arms on the backrest of the chair. The goggles and mask obscured his expression, but Crypto knew he was staring at him. Even if he made sure his own stoic expression never wavered, it was unnerving to not be able to know what Octane was thinking just by watching his head tilt the slightest bit. It was the only tell he had, but all it conveyed was curiosity. "What is it?" Crypto inquired, growing uncomfortable.

"I know you blew up the repulsor tower."

_What? But... This was impossible!_ Octane was still looking at him, his body language relaxed. _How could he say this so casually?!_ Crypto's hands jerked up from his keyboard, ready to wrestle his fellow Legend to the ground just as he did with the last one who questioned him. (At least Mirage was an idiot. Octane, apparently, was less of an idiot than he made himself out to be. _Figures,_ son of a couple of CEOs and heir to a pharmaceutical company.)

He had to silence him, somehow, in an effort to keep his secret. Crypto mentally went over all the blackmail he could possibly have on the daredevil. On his parents, his history, the day he lost his legs, although none of that was a secret and Octane didn't particularly seem embarrassed or dishonest about anything. _Maybe the way he got his new legs was an area of interest..._ Crypto's fingers twitched in indecision – he could try and look for whatever juicy secret the other Legend was hiding, or he could just choke him out right here, right now. That was, until Octane laughed.

"Before you try to kill me, I just wanna say that it was awesome!" Metal legs bent to squat on the chair, as if trying to find a proper way to sit on it. Octane seemed to have trouble doing so, switching positions every couple of seconds but never quite finding a way to sit normally. Every position looked like he was a cat trying to fit themselves into a box that was too small for them. Metal creaked and bumped and scraped against wood with the movements, but the man didn't stop talking. "That thing fell right on me! I almost died." Crypto's stomach flipped for reasons he couldn't describe, and he opened his mouth to... to do_ what, exactly? Apologize?_ He certainly didn't mean to make an attempt on somebody's life by taking down the tower. But Octane didn't give him a chance to say anything. "—But I loved every minute of it! And then all the wildlife started coming in! It was so cool, it really spiced up the Games. And I don't know what you did in that lab, but I saw you run out of there, and then you joined us. And it just clicked, y'know? That's how I know."

_What?_

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Just wanted to let you know, _amigo!_ I don't want you to think I got hard feelings about you dropping all that metal on me. I'm tougher than you think. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your little secret. Free of charge. But if you wanna wrestle for other reasons, hit me up sometime." Crypto could only watch with an open mouth as Octane lifted up his goggles and winked at him before hopping off the chair to go bother someone else.

His hands hovered above his keyboard, now without any purpose. _Octane had... beautiful hazel eyes._

_Wait. **What?** _

–

Silicone fingertips gripped his controller harder than he needed to when Crypto steered his drone over the battlefield. Gibraltar stood next to him to protect him from unwanted visitors while he activated his EMP so Octane could finish off the squad in the next building. He couldn't help setting his sights on the way Octane moved as he killed every enemy with a calculated shot of his Peacekeeper, one by one. Seeing as there were no more enemies in the building to ping, Crypto could stop moving his drone around, instead watching Octane as he looted their death boxes and pinged some items of interest. Transfixed on the exposed skin of his waist, his toned arms as he switched his guns and the sweat dripping down his neck from today's efforts, Crypto almost forgot he was supposed to exit out of his drone. Gibraltar gave him a nudge. "Is the coast clear?"

"Oh. Uh, yes." He put his controller back in his pocket, mentally cursing himself for letting his attention lapse this much. "Let's move."

Crypto hardly ever voiced minor complaints. He let them stew in his mind and would leave them there to deal with later if they were really worth his time. Such was the case with how infuriating this weird physical crush was. _Was it even just physical?_ He'd definitely felt more relaxed whenever Octane was around, and whenever the daredevil laughed at his deadpan remarks he felt the corners of his mouth involuntarily twitch. He was glad his jacket was big enough to hide his expression in whenever the other Legend tried to lean over to see if he could get a reaction out of him. Octane was shorter than Crypto, so he had developed a habit of hopping around him or taking off his headgear so Crypto would look at him. The daredevil had learned how to read him, which wasn't Crypto's intention. He carefully masked all his tells, made sure nobody could ever know anything about him just by looking at him, and yet here he was, with a little man—who was _way_ too observant for his own good—practically glued to him, and there was nothing he could do about it.

By the time Crypto and Gibraltar reached him, Octane was poking at the drone in boredom, turning it around in his hands. He didn't look like he was about to break it, but apparently he had figured out how to take selfies with it as he was draped over a golden colored death box. He looked like he had already looted it and was just using the box as a couch, stretching and rolling around on it like a content cat while he fiddled with the chirping drone. Crypto flushed a dark red when he stumbled upon the sight, which Gibraltar seemed to miss as he shooed the smaller Legend off the box so he could grab the anvil receiver in it. "Stop desecrating the dead," he scolded with not an ounce of seriousness in it. Octane laughed at this, jumping to his feet. He let go of the drone so it could float freely into the air, choosing to instead address the speechless man left in the doorway.

"Nice EMP, dude! That entire squad is toast. Come grab this level three armor, you look like you could use it."

Yes. Yes he could.

They ended up winning, of course. Octane seemed entirely too pleased with himself as he finished off Mirage (after Crypto knocked him down), and after the match, Crypto watched him wander off with the trickster to the med bay of the ship, happily chattering away. They seemed very close. Crypto knew he didn't have the right to be jealous. It wasn't even as if he was planning to pursue anything. Octane was the only one who knew about him sabotaging the games, but he didn't seem to mind it in the slightest, and even came to the hacker to be upfront about it. It was unclear to Crypto what that would lead to. _If he was found out, would Octane be found an accomplice? Was it a way for Octane to blackmail him, and if so, what could he possibly want from him? And why the hell did he find himself staring the man right in the eye like nothing else in the room was more important than seeing Octavio Silva's bare face?_ From the very start, their relationship was already complicated, and Mirage couldn't possibly understand that, whether he was looking for Octavio's affections or not. But maybe, just _maybe_...

Crypto might have felt _a little_ satisfied about shooting that smug bastard in the face earlier.

–

The neural link between him and his squad members was a tough one to keep working properly. While it worked, Crypto found some of his squad members blatantly ignoring his drone's pings, or worse yet, chased them only to get knocked down moments later. So when he found that he needed to upgrade the link, he neglected to ask some of his fellow Legends to let him calibrate the new software in their receivers.

Sure, he asked the more reasonable ones among them, like Gibraltar, and Ajay (with whom he managed to get on first name basis because of their mutual exasperation about a certain hyperactive man). Even Caustic seemed to grasp the importance of the upgrade. Crypto asked Octavio too, but in hindsight he shouldn't have, because he took a little too long to find a good spot to plant the newly upgraded receiver. Octavio had needed to take off his crop top, and started squirming when Crypto's fingers glided along his spine. He kept finding the tiniest little dots on Octavio's back, a stark contrast to the lightly tanned skin. _Cute._

"Didn't know 'calibration' involved a massage, _compadre_. At least let me lie down for it." The request came out as a bit of a whine, which shouldn't have gotten to the hacker as much as it did.

"It's not—" Crypto pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. _Why did this man suddenly start catching him off guard like this?_ It was as if Octavio knew whenever he was deep in thought, and sought to pull him back to the present. Back to him.

He loved the attention. That's the only reason Crypto could think of. He'd only been in the Games for a couple of months, but Octavio already knew how to push his buttons, to get him to pay attention to him. And the worst part was that it was _working._ Crypto already had thought about doing more intimate things with him, and it had kept him awake at night. Octavio's room was directly next to his, and the distinct lack of regard for privacy with which the ship was designed allowed Crypto to see Octavio draped over the little furniture he had whenever he slept, with no pattern as to where he was going to sleep at any given night. It pissed him off at first, because it'd seem like he was dead, but it grew on him when Octavio, for one reason or another, stopped wearing his goggles and mask while he slept, trading a soulless look for something decidedly more... interesting to look at. He wondered if there was a reason behind this change.

"Don't worry about letting your hands wander, _amigo_. I'm sure you can find a good spot in no time." Octavio was trying to get to him with that low tone of voice. But two could play at this game. Crypto jabbed the base of the smaller man's spine, at which Octavio jolted and sat up straight. "I'd have an easier time if you stopped slouching." This made the daredevil pout. He was lacking a retort. _Good._ Pleased with his handiwork, Crypto managed to will his hands to stop shaking as he finished his work. "Okay, you can get dressed now."

Octavio hummed, stretching. Crypto watched, and swallowed thickly. As much as he managed to keep his composure so far, he hated himself for his wandering eyes. Octavio seemed not only to be unconcerned about who knew the reason why he wore a binder a lot of the time, he was also unashamed of his physique and didn't care who saw what he was hiding, as long as he wasn't streaming live. He wasn't out yet, not to his viewers, and his fellow Legends knew better than to expose him. The amount of trust he had in them was... was... _oh no._

Screw that train of thought, Octavio was turning around.

"Nah. I think I'm gonna sit around like this."

"Wait, no! _Geumanduda!_"

Absolutely positive he was going to get an eyeful soon if he didn't do anything, Crypto threw a shirt at Octavio as his face burned hotter than a thermite grenade.

–

That night he set out to focus on reviewing the rest of his tech as well. The new upgrade to his drone was a hassle. Apparently there was something in its memory files that wasn't supposed to be there, and so Crypto set out to find out what it was, in the relative privacy of his own dorm, water bottle in hand as he scrolled through the files. At first, nothing seemed off, but there was a number of photos and some footage that he hadn't made himself. Then he remembered Octavio's fiddling with his drone the other day, and everything made sense.

So that was how he stumbled upon several photos of Octavio in various poses. Most were just silly, and some were even pretty good looking. The daredevil was good at taking selfies. Perhaps he had to be, as a streamer. But then there was a picture that had Crypto choke on his water. He coughed, squinting at the picture, trying to make sure he's seeing this right.

There he was, lounging on a death box, with his mask around his neck and his tongue stuck out. One of his hands was stuck down his pants. _Great._ Upon checking the other files, Crypto soon realized it was not going to get any less suggestive. Another picture in which his mask was completely off, one from a low angle where his legs were spread, a video of him pushing his hands underneath his combat vest... _How was he able to take all of these in the short time he wasn't looking?!_

At least it confirmed what he needed to know: Octavio was doing this on purpose. He wasn't sure why, since Octavio had enough information on him to hand him over to the Syndicate on a silver platter. He needed to get some answers as soon as possible, lest he got trapped in some sick little mind game.

Crypto transferred all the files to an external drive before covering his face with his hands.

–

The next night, after a particularly rough round, Crypto figured he had to swallow his pride. Everyone had already turned in for the night, except of course him and Octavio, except Octavio wasn't playing his usual video games, instead seated at his desk to fiddle with a stim syringe with the needle broken off. His outfit was mismatched to hell and back, with him wearing his regular headgear, a loose crop top and bright yellow belts strapped to his thighs. Crypto knew he was going to watch him all night if he didn't address the elephant in the room.

Octavio blinked behind his goggles when Crypto dropped the drive onto his desk. "What's this? More calibrations?" He laughed. Crypto shook his head.

"I'm giving you your selfies back. Figured you'd want them." Octavio seemed to be surprised about this. He dropped the needle and started fiddling with the drive instead, his own way of acknowledging it.

"Aww, but I made them for you, _cariño_. I know how much you like looking at me."

Crypto had no idea what a _cariño_ was, but the way the other Legend said it sent a shiver down his spine. "Yeah, about that—" Before he could say anything, Octavio cut him off. "I guess the jig is up, huh?"

Crypto narrowed his eyes, asking his next question slowly. "What jig?" _Was he just trying to toy with him? Was he blackmailing him after all? Did he hear about everything that happened to Mila and who he really is and—_

"I've been trying to flirt with you for weeks! Are you going to ask me out sometime? _Entiendo,_ you're hard to get, but this is ridiculous."

_Oh._ Well, that wasn't anywhere near what he expected, but—in retrospect—should have.

He knew he was getting quite red, which seemed to excite Octavio quite a bit.

"Don't tell me now is the first time you noticed?" He pulled off his mask and goggles and stared up at Crypto with a wide grin and expecting gaze. He didn't make the effort to get up from his seat, but he was kicking his legs, energetic as always. Something deep inside of Crypto panicked. It wasn't as if the feelings weren't mutual, but he still didn't know whether or not he could trust Octavio. For all of this to work out, he would have to lay out everything to him. The reason the Syndicate is looking for him, Mila's disappearance, his identity fraud... Octavio would be an accomplice if he decided not to turn him in, and Crypto wasn't sure he wanted to do that to him. This was why he told himself he wouldn't get attached. Not to mention, the other man seemed almost passive, as if expecting him to make the first move. He _was_ flirting with him, and it was blatant, and it made him feel funny in the chest. Never mind, he was already attached.

_Maybe... start with the simple things._

"You don't even know my real name." Octavio frowned at that. "Okay, and? You want me to guess your real name or are you gonna tell me? I hate guessing games. When I had to guess Elliott's name I called him Steve Sharts."

The mental image of that... Crypto hid his laugh behind a cough, and tried not to think about it further for now. "No, I mean that I have... a lot that I'm hiding. If we do this, I need to know if I can trust you."

Octavio leaned his head on his hands, elbows planted on his desk. "Wow, way to ruin the mood. But if this is about the tower, I already said I'm not gonna tell anyone. It's not like you're the only one with stuff to hide. I bet half of us have a criminal record. Hell, I can even tell you where my legs came from. I know you've been looking at them." He wiggled them, the metal ankles creaking as his feet moved. Crypto couldn't help but look. _Did he ever make an effort to lubricate them?_ They always made the damnedest noise that attracted the worst kind of attention. He was even wearing a different set today, colored a bright yellow and purple and white color scheme—with a sponsorship logo plastered across the length of his right shin, of course—and sleeker shapes for what he assumed was a more aerodynamic form... And they still made the same amount of noise. Crypto guessed Octavio just didn't care for upkeep so much.

"No, you really don't have t—"

"I guilt tripped Ajay into forging an order for them. She also had me put on the waiting list for top surgery, but I can't just tap out of this season to get it done. This is my _life, amigo!_ Bed rest isn't good for me." He sat up, grabbed the front of his loose crop top and shook it to emphasize his point, which made Crypto quickly avert his gaze. "Your turn. What's your story?"

Crypto pulled up a chair and sat down, sighing. "You have to keep this a secret. Even my real name. I'm putting my life on the line, but you have to know about this. I'm serious, do _not_ tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed,_ compadre._"

He wasn't convinced, but he figured he'd just begin talking before he would regret it. He inhaled, preparing himself for what he was about to tell him.

"My name is Tae Joon Park."

Little did he know, he wouldn't regret it in the slightest.

–

Tae Joon woke up, and there were two things that immediately stood out to him.

One, he was in the most uncomfortable position ever, scrunched up on a garishly green beanbag. Two, there was a weight on him, and he quickly found that it was Octavio. His prosthetics and various other gear were discarded on the floor. Tae Joon found himself absentmindedly putting his hand on the other man's thigh to massage it, but restrained himself from getting any more... curious. Still, Octavio chuckled against his chest. "That tickles. Hey, if you wanna feel me up, at least be subtle about it."

Tae Joon's gaze instantly redirected at the ceiling and he did his best to keep a straight face. He watched a hand—Octavio's—lift in his peripheral vision. Slim fingers then squeezed his nose playfully, which made Tae Joon swat at the air. In the confusion, he shoved Octavio off of him and onto the floor. Octavio grabbed at his jacket, pulling him down with him.

Then it dawned on him that he told Octavio everything the night before, and he hadn't run, or even reacted badly to the whole thing. He had, for once, listened carefully to what he had to say, and hadn't judged him. It felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, and it allowed him to see Octavio in a different light. He finally let himself look at him, _really_ look at him, and realize how small the other man was compared to him. And those hazel eyes he liked so much? They were staring right back at him, and for once, he was comfortable with being watched like this. Octavio didn't have the best attention span, but when it came to Tae Joon, he was surprisingly patient, and he appreciated that. A bright smile spread across the daredevil's face, a teasing lilt in his voice. "What are you thinking about this time?"

Tae Joon caged Octavio between his arms and leaned down to kiss him, which got a more than enthusiastic response. That was, until Elliott walked past them, uttering a tired "good morning" before he stopped dead in his tracks, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he faced the new couple on the floor. Octavio and Tae Joon looked up at him.

"Aw man, are you going at it already? At least wait until we've all had our morning coffee. Gross."

Ajay too walked past them, not even sparing them a glance. "Get a room, you two." Elliott followed her to the lounge. "Yeah, that too."

_Wait, they weren't even surprised?_ Tae Joon's eyes narrowed, until Octavio tugged at the collar of his jacket and kissed him. "They had a bet. Elliott didn't think we'd become a thing." Tae Joon didn't mind this, surprisingly. All he wanted was to kiss Octavio some more. "Let me guess," he responded, "Ajay knows you're persistent, so she won the bet." They kissed again. "Yup! She knows me. Elliott doesn't know what I'm capable of." Octavio wrapped his arms around Tae Joon's shoulders and he closed the distance between them, their breaths mingling between kisses.

"Am I going to find out what you're capable of?"

"Ohhh, you're on dangerous territory, _mi amor_."

"Maybe I like the danger."

Octavio laughed and Tae Joon smiled. Mila would have reprimanded him for this. But she would have liked Octavio. He knew she would.

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to mike for the motivation you the real mvp
> 
> Here's some translations I hope I got them right dslkds
> 
> amigo - friend  
compadre - companion  
geumanduda - stop/don't  
cariño - darling  
entiendo - I understand  
mi amor - my love  
steve sharts - steve sharts


End file.
